Google PowerMeter: Another Noble Cause to Intrude into Your Privacy?

If you are a netizen then you know one thing is for sure. Google is watching over. Now they have come one step ahead and wants you to share your energy information with them. Perplexed? Google will announce a free web service tomorrow called PowerMeter that’ll let users track energy consumption in their homes or business, provided there’s a means to upload the data. Google PowerMeter, now in prototype, will receive information from utility smart meters and energy management devices and provide anyone who signs up to get access to his home electricity consumption right on the iGoogle homepage.

Google’s 3 Way Plan

Analyze:  Get better information about how you use energy and what you can do to be more efficient.
Save:  Reduce your energy bills and carbon footprint by making smart decisions about your energy use.
Share:  Strike up a little friendly competition to see how your energy consumption compares to your friends and neighbors.

What Google Says

Google’s mission is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” and we believe consumers have a right to detailed information about their home electricity use…

Specifically, to provide both consumers and utilities with real-time energy information, homes must be equipped with advanced energy meters called “smart meters.” There are currently about 40 million smart meters in use worldwide, with plans to add another 100 million in the next few years….

In addition to policy advocacy, we’re building consumer tools, too. Over the last several months, our engineers have developed a software tool called Google PowerMeter, which will show consumers their home energy information almost in real time, right on their computer. Google PowerMeter is not yet available to the public since we’re testing it out with Googlers first. But we’re building partnerships with utilities and independent device manufacturers to gradually roll this out in pilot programs. Once we’ve had a chance to kick the tires, we’ll make the tool more widely available.

What We Say

The tinge of green revolution that Google wants to gift you for free may come at a cost, the cost of your privacy. Of course it will not be a far off future when Google will try and act as an overwhelming all in one service provider. Remember The Truman show? Knowing them, the Google Powermeter may become suggestive in future and insisting thereafter about going for a greener and less power consuming upgradation with a provider of their choice, let’s say GE. Google’s charitable view point to anything that lead us to be the product user first and metamorphose into the product itself later, is what worries me.

It is a noble venture but considering its coming from Google, I will give a second thought before giving another inch of my privacy (however irrelevant) to the people from Mountain View.

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